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New Jersey 420 News: The Year In Marijuana

Although the origins of 4/20 remain shrouded in a cloud of mystery
, there's one certain thing that New Jersey cannabis users can agree on when they celebrate the infamous yearly marijuana "holiday" on Thursday… things are changing in the Garden State.

Check out some of the marijuana-related developments that have taken place in New Jersey during the past year in the below stories (click headline to read).

A New Jersey State Assemblyman has introduced a bold, cannabis-friendly bill that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in the Garden State. The proposed law – A4193 - would legalize marijuana and "provide for records expungement" for certain past marijuana offenses.

In addition, the bill would make it possible for New Jersey retailers to sell cannabis products similar to tobacco products, including at local convenience stores.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation to approve the use of medical marijuana for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, noting that many soldiers could benefit from its usage.

Westfield's Nicholas Delpopolo says that he didn't know there was pot inside a brownie he ate at a celebration party with friends. The judoka speaks with Patch about his expulsion from the Olympics for eating a pot brownie and how he will seek redemption at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"The excitement surrounding the legal cannabis industry and New Jersey's role and opportunities is amazing," Scott Rudder, president of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association says. Take a look at these 14 cannabis jobs that are already earning people cash – legally – in New Jersey.

Fourteen people from four North Jersey counties were arrested and $267,000, 10 pounds of marijuana, and 1,000 grams of candy laced with THC after a four-month long investigation, authorities announced.

The drugs were seized after authorities executed search warrants at residences in Oakland, Hewitt, Glenwood, Maywood, Bloomingdale, Haskell, Morris Plains and Ringwood, and a hotel in Morris County Sunday, said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes.

Students at Hillsborough School District will now be able to receive medical marijuana if needed

"We have to do it, this is not a choice," Hillsborough School Assistant Superintendent Lisa M. Antunes told Patch. "Every school district in the state has to do it and if they haven't done it, they will have to do it soon."

A group of New Jersey residents recently claimed that smoking weed helps relieve symptoms from a variety of diseases – including migraines, arthritis, autism, depression and Alzheimer's – in a series of petitions aimed at increasing the number of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in the state.

Recently, dozens of Garden State residents and pot smokers shared personal testimony about the benefits of cannabis with the New Jersey Department of Health in an attempt to increase the number of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in the state.

Their stories are urgent reminders of the grim battles that play out for many New Jersey patients. According to cannabis advocacy nonprofit The Coalition for Medical Marijuana NJ
, more than 600 registered medical marijuana patients in the Garden State passed away in 2015.

Police seized $750,000 worth of marijuana that was being transported through Bergen County, authorities said.

The Passaic County Sheriff's Office and New Jersey State Police were investigating information that a large quantity of marijuana was being brought to a storage facility in Clifton. Authorities identified a box truck used for the delivery and its driver, Pedram Bousheri, and watched the truck while it traveled through Bergen County, Sheriff Richard Berdnik said.

More than five years after its backers launched a bid to become one of New Jersey's inaugural six medical marijuana dispensaries, a proposed Secaucus facility is still waiting for a final go-ahead from the Department of Health, state officials confirmed.